FERC: US adds 50 MW of biomass capacity in May

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Energy Projects has released its Energy Infrastructure Update for May, reporting that the U.S. added 50 MW of biomass power capacity during the month.

The report shows the U.S. added six biomass units with a combined 50 MW of capacity in May. Since the beginning of the year, the U.S. has added 11 biomass units with a combined 66 MW of capacity. During the first five months of 2017, the U.S. added 16 biomass units with a combined 167 MW of capacity.

According to the FERC, Hawaiian Electric Co.’s 50 MW biomass-fueled Schofield Generating Station in Honolulu County, Hawaii, is among the power generation projects that came online in May.

Overall, the U.S. added 274 power generation units with a combined 10,732 MW of capacity during the first five months of 2018. This includes 36 natural gas units with a combined 6,646 MW, one nuclear unit with 4 MW, seven oil units with a combined 11 MW, eight hydro units with a combined 22 MW, 18 wind units with a combined 1,956 units, two geothermal steam units with a combined 21 MW, 181 solar units with a combined 1,921 MW, two waste heat units with a combined 80 WM, and eight units classified as “other” with a combined 5 MW. No coal units were placed into service during the first five months of the year.

As of the end of May, the FERC reports that the U.S. has a total of 16.52 GW of installed biomass generating capacity, accounting for 1.39 percent of total capacity.

The report currently lists 60 units with a combined 705 MW of proposed biomass generation capacity additions that could be added in the U.S. through 2021. Over the same time period, 19 units with a combined 50 MW of biomass power capacity have been proposed for retirement.